1. Field
The present application relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to systems, methods, and devices for acknowledgement of received data using a group identifier
2. Background
In many telecommunication systems, communications networks are used to exchange messages among several interacting spatially-separated devices. Networks may be classified according to geographic scope, which could be, for example, a metropolitan area, a local area, or a personal area. Such networks would be designated respectively as a wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), local area network (LAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), or personal area network (PAN). Networks also differ according to the switching/routing technique used to interconnect the various network nodes and devices (e.g. circuit switching vs. packet switching), the type of physical media employed for transmission (e.g. wired vs. wireless), and the set of communication protocols used (e.g. Internet protocol suite, SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking), Ethernet, etc.).
Wireless networks are often preferred when the network elements are mobile and thus have dynamic connectivity needs, or if the network architecture is formed in an ad hoc, rather than fixed, topology. Wireless networks employ intangible physical media in an unguided propagation mode using electromagnetic waves in the radio, microwave, infra-red, optical, etc. frequency bands. Wireless networks advantageously facilitate user mobility and rapid field deployment when compared to fixed wired networks.
The devices in a wireless network may communicate information between each other. As part of communicating, it may be desirable for the transmitter of data to receive confirmation that the transmitted data has been received by the intended recipient. Thus, the receiver of the data may transmit an acknowledgment signal indicating whether or not the data was correctly received. If the acknowledgment signal indicates that the data was not correctly received, the transmitter may retransmit the data to the receiver. If the data is, again, not correctly received, the transmitter may initiate a process to improve the channel, such as estimating the channel, estimating optimal beamforming vectors, or changing the channel frequency. Acknowledgment signals contribute to transmission overhead and it is desirable to reduce the length of time used for acknowledgment transmissions, particularly in a multi-user scenario in which data is sent to multiple devices and multiple acknowledgment signals must be received.